Well, well, well. It’s been up for just about ten minutes, and already it appears that the cutest picture EVER is in fact a FRAUD. Originally billed as a panda scared after the Japanese earthquake, turns out this picture is a LIE. I mean, the panda is hugging a guy, but not out of fear. Rather, OUT OF HUNGER. Yes, this picture dates back to 2006, and thankfully my friend Neil — who also happens to be the resident panda archivist of my group — pointed this out to me. Evidently the panda is actually clutching a leg to ask for food.

Ah, but maybe the panda was hungry in the wake of a smaller but still frightening earthquake. Let the conspiracy theories abound!

(Edit: I originally posted this photo with the caption: Following the May 12, 2008 earthquake in China, this terrified giant panda grabs the leg of a policeman. I found out later that the caption changed on Flickr and that it is NOT true.)